


Rocks In The Raging Storm

by tillloveburnusall



Category: WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Dystopia, Futuristic Days, M/M, This was supposed to be a light twilight au, but I'm an idiot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24740281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tillloveburnusall/pseuds/tillloveburnusall
Summary: In a world ruled by the ruthless, Guanheng finds his fate right beside the enemy.
Relationships: Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, this was supposed to be a twilight AU but somehow got darker and I decided that I'll just give my blood and tears for this so yeah... 
> 
> Before we start, let me give you some quick warnings, this story is not completed, i'm writing as I post and although I have her figured out, writing is a tough process, so updates won't take months but also won't be in like, two weeks. 
> 
> That's it. If you liked, please let me know, this is a complicated work and I would like to know if you guys are understanding.

Rain feels like teardrops running down Guanheng’s face. They are salty on his tongue and he wonders if maybe the sky is mourning for him too. 

He shouldn’t be here, not today. But it became some type of ritual, he comes to the grave, waits for ten minutes and when they are done, Guanheng leaves. When he was younger, he used to bring flowers, maybe he should've brought some today too.

His clothes are soaked, heavy on his limbs but it doesn’t bother him, actually he thinks that today not much can get under his skin. The worst already happened, anyways. He looks at the grave he’s standing in front. The name svelted on it seems to be making fun of him.

**Here lies Liu Yangyang**

**May your soul rest in peace**

He gets down on his knees, holding his hands together as he murmurs his prays.

When Guanheng’s back on his feet, he’s not alone anymore. 

The man is absurdly stunning, not even slightly different from the first time Guanheng had laid his eyes on him. He is not tall, but not small either and although one could call him fragile by the state and conjecture of his body, the fact that it is raining makes the loose white shirt hug the male’s frame and Guanheng can see firm pale muscles. His facial features are nothing like a human, cat-like blue sharp eyes in perfecto alignment to the buttoned up nose and lips that right now are pursed in a thin line.

Less wouldn’t be expected from the Lord of North, Li Yongqin. Guanheng should be running, but instead, he just says, “I thought you wouldn’t come, sir.” 

It’s quite unnerving how the other keeps staring at the grave, completely still, like a statue, not breathing or making any sound. The only moment that conveys life it’s when he is moving. 

The lord turns his head towards him, and Guanheng's breath gets stuck on his throat when he sees what’s so clear in the man's eyes.

He is grieving, not for Yangyang, but for Guanheng. He tries not to let the horror get the best on him and offers a shaky smile. The man doesn't smile back.

“You were chosen.” He says, ignoring Guanheng’s greetings. His voice sounds heavy and shallow, like he’s speaking but at the same time, not exactly doing it. Guanheng nods his head, even though there was no question. 

The rain gets stronger but Guanheng keeps still, feeling the drops whip his back with ferocity. Since yesterday people only look at him with pity, treating him like this was his last day on earth. 

_It’s not._ A small voice taunts in the back of his mind. _But soon will be._

Guanheng shakes his head, he won’t think about it. Not now. 

“Ten, do you think he will do it fast?” Guanheng asks, trying to look tough but his voice breaks before he finishes the sentence and he can feel Ten’s eyes burning on his face but he just stares at the grave, not daring to look back. 

“They say Dejun is a good man, but none of the ones who says it are human.” Ten replies, like always, pretending that Guanheng is not breaking at least seven rules when he speaks to him like they are equals. “I’m sorry, Heng.” 

Guanheng shakes his head again, Ten doesn’t need to apologize to him, it’s not his fault. Actually, he doesn’t know whose fault it is, but pointing fingers won’t help him right now. 

They stay silent after this, and for some reason, Guanheng thinks about Yangyang. Guanheng himself was only five when Liu's younger child was chosen. No one would ever think they would call the mayor’s child. But they did and the next day, Yangyang was standing on the platform waiting for the Noble to finally claim him as his walking and fresh blood bag. 

Guanheng’s mother tells him that he was the only kid crying in the ceremony and that she took him home before it really started, but he can’t remember it properly. It doesn't matter though, it’s what happens when the Lord steps on the platform that interests Guanheng the most. 

Most people say that Yangyang just went crazy, but Guanheng’s sister tells him that he started crying first, that he begged to not be taken but no one said a word, not even his father dared to stand for him, they just watched him implore for his life.

He had a knife with him. It’s what the guards told them when they brought the body back on the same day. Slit his throat in front of his vampire. But no one believed, of course, there was no wound in Yangyang’s neck.

For how strange it is, the funeral’s memories are perfectly fresh on Guanheng’s mind, Yangyang’s face involved by red roses, the almost smile that was on his face, the lack of pulse and the cold skin that seemed to shine under the candle's light. 

He wishes he was brave enough, like Yangyang. He wishes that he was brave enough to give up on his life in order to be free. This day, under the punishing rain, Guanheng wishes for a lot of things.

‘Yangyang wasn’t brave, Guanheng.” Ten says, abruptly, startling him. “He was scared. He was barely a teenager. And he was scared.”

He notices that Ten’s hands are closed with so much force that his knuckles are turning white, and for a moment he is scared that the other can read his mind but he can see his own expression reflected in Ten’s eyes and the fear is dispersed. 

Ten is the Lord of North. Which means that he’s one of the most powerful vampires around but he speaks softly to Guanheng, he offers support for those who are troubled and he was the one to officialize the rule that says that the vampire must face consequences in case he kills the human he is feeding from. Ten is a vampire, but for the past fifteen years he comes to cry for a human that he hadn’t killed.

“He was twenty, not a teenager." Guanheng says because it's the truth and he knows that sometimes Ten forgets that humans age differently from vampires. "But you're right."

To say that Ten is surprised when Guanheng hugs him, it’s a understatement and for a moment he fears that he finally crossed the line. But before he can apologize, Ten hugs him back. 

“I’ll discover anything that I can about Xiao Dejun, I promise.” Ten whispers against his ears. “If there’s a way for him to not hurt you, I will find out.”

Guanheng smiles softly, this is something that not even Ten can help him with. 

“He’s the Lord of South.” He replies, pulling away, “Your power doesn’t reach him.”

Ten furrows his brows, looking down for some minutes and Guanheng thinks that it's funny that he feels offended when a human points out that he can’t save him but doesn’t mind that said human touches him like they are friends. He would like to be friends with Ten.

"I could try.” He replies grumply, and Guanheng has the terrifying nerve to think that Ten looks _cute._ He’s distracted with the thought when Ten’s face turns serious and he speaks again, “It is weird, though. Why would the Lord of South come to the North looking for a companion?”

 _Companion._ The words makes Guanheng’s head spin but he keeps to himself, averting his attention. 

“You didn’t know he was coming?"

Ten shakes his head. “He sent me a letter, asking for permission. But this normally goes to the advisor and for some reason he thought he could choose this by himself and just agreed.”

Guanheng can see in the flash that crosses Ten’s eyes that said advisor is not here to defend himself anymore and selfishly this makes Guanheng feel better. He knows that high positions are exclusive to vampires and in this moment he doesn’t feel particularly pitiful for the one who put him in this situation. 

“I see.” The sky starts to clear and Guanheng looks around. The rain had decreased considerably. “I should go. My family is probably thinking that I ran away.”

He says the last part like a joke, but the thought definitely flew through his mind at some point. It’s stupid though, you can’t run from a vampire, they are too fast. 

Ten nods, drops of rain dripping from some strands of his hair. 

“Why are your eyes blue?” He asks, because this was something that always called his attention but he never asked afraid of angering the other, but now that he will die anyways so what’s the difference? 

Ten seems surprised, but answers nonetheless. “Age. When a vampire completes one century their eye color changes from red to yellow and when we complete five centuries, it changes from yellow to blue.”

Guanheng whistles, that’s quite some time. He knew that Ten was older than he looked like but that was another level. 

“Thanks. For telling me this.” He says when silence becomes too much. “I’ll see you another day, Ten.”

Ten smiles weakly at him. Guanheng starts running. 

When he’s at the bottom of the hill, far away from the graveyard, he looks back. 

Ten is gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.
> 
> ― Friedrich Nietzsche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha, remember that thing I said about not updating too fast? haha, i'm a liar. 
> 
> anyways, the quote in the chapter summary is from "thus spoke zarathustra" and i'll be honest with you people... that book is fucking insane. 
> 
> enjoy!

Four days later, Guanheng finds himself standing on the same platform as Yangyang did once.

It’s probably weird his obsession with a dead person, but have been like this as far as his memory can stretch. Guanheng remembers being twelve and running with his friends in the florest, after his parents told him he could run all he wanted as long as he came back before it got too dark. 

He was so excited, running with the baker’s children, letting his hair fall all over his face, letting the wind play with his hair, the fog mess with his senses, the trees embrace him too far from the boundaries.  When Guanheng stopped running, the forest had swallowed him whole. 

The aunties from the town would tell the children all about the dangers of the tall trees that would close their black and thorny branches around children’s limbs like claws. Chewing their hearts out as the livings.

Fear courses through his veins like venom, fast and ceaselessly, his heartbeat rings on his ears and a shudder runs down his spine. He tries running again, but the tears blurry his vision and he trips in one of the low branches.

He must have hit his head, because when he sat back, looking for bruises, crimson red eyes were watching him. Worse, standing on his full height, arms crossed and looking like not even one day since his death had passed, was Liu Yangyang. 

He can’t remember what exactly happened before he lost his conscience, but some seconds prior to his black out, Guanheng still hears a soft voice whisper in his ear. 

**_“Thanks for the flowers.”_ **

Now, standing in front of the people that he had grown up with, Guanheng can’t avoid but bring the memory back. Yangyang’s red eyes are clear on his head. It was probably just his mind playing games on him, he did spend way too much time around Yangyang’s grave.

_ He had no pulse or heartbeat, don’t be ridiculous.  _ Guanheng says to himself, but at the same beat, the same voice from before replies.  _ We do know some creatures that have none of these things, either, don’t we? _

It’s the horns and whistles coming from the train that calls Guanheng’s attention, breaking his bubble. The mayor comes closer to him, looking way older than he really is. Guanheng can’t say he doesn’t share the feeling. 

He can hear sobs that awfully sounds like his father coming from the crowd but he refuses to look at them, he won’t do this if he sees his family crying, if he sees what’s probably all over his face reflected in their eyes. 

When the vampire steps out of the train, Guanheng gasps in surprise. He doesn’t have red eyes, nor yellow or blue. Under the murky day, the creature’s eyes shine in purple. 

It screams danger and Guanheng can’t help but feel betrayed by Ten. Why hadn't he warned Guanheng about the purple, what this color meant? He knows the basics about vampires, the older they are, the stronger they get. How old could this one be?

Before Guanheng can start panicking, the guard announces the vampire's presence. 

“Noble from the Dong house of the South, Dong Sicheng!” 

_ Dong? _ Guanheng can see that he’s not the only one confused, the mayor’s brows are impossibly high and for the first time in his life, he sees that the man wants to contest what’s happening. But before he has the chance, Noble Dong bows his head in greetings.

“The Lord apologises profusely as he couldn’t bring himself to attend the ceremony in time.” The Noble’s voice echoes through the whole platform, and Guanheng feels fear freeze him inside out. “In his place, here am I.”

The mayor, looking like he’s ready to throw up, speaks in a shaky voice. “Will you be the one to claim Huang Guanheng, then?”

The vampire looks at the older man, and Guanheng almost chokes on his breath when he sees the flickers of respect in the amaranthine eyes. Vampires show humans no respect, Ten is the only one and Guanheng is sure that even him has utter motives. 

“I won’t, sir.” The Noble answers and Guanheng can hear whispers in the crowd. That’s the first time any of them hears a vampire address a human in such a high honorific as  _ sir.  _ “Nor will my Lord.”

He looks around and for a second, Guanheng thinks that even the Noble himself is confused. 

“We appreciate your help, Huang Guanheng.” The purple eyed vampire says, this time looking directly at Guanheng’s eyes. He can see, in the depths of the purple sea, some flickers of black. “The South won’t forget it.”

This makes Guanheng feel somewhat better. The South and the North have been fighting over boundaries for decades for what Guanheng knows, the idea that he can help to ease the tension makes him feel more resigned. Some time ago Ten told him that this is not the real reason that instigated the fight but he hadn’t said much other than that and Guanheng didn’t feel like digging deeper.

The mayor seems to get out of a trance and puts a hand around Guanheng’s shoulders, almost protectively. His hands are shaking and Guanheng wonders if he’s thinking about Yangyang now. 

“How can we be sure that you won’t hurt him?” 

The vampire eyes soften, and he takes a step back. “We won’t keep him from visiting.”

He knows that words means nothing. If Dejun decides that he will keep Guanheng locked inside his room all day, there’s no way he can contest it. There’s no way none of them can contest it, actually. 

He pulls away from the mayor embrace, and the red around the man’s eye reminds him of something. “Sir, I took him flowers. Every year. Roses. But I couldn’t this year, and I’m not sure I’ll do it in the years that are to come. I’m sorry.”

The mayor shakes his head. He looks broken beyond repair, his eyes so hollow that Guanheng feels like he's looking only to the shell of someone that has not been here for a long time. Breathing, blood pumping on his veins, but no longer alive.

“Don’t worry about this, son. I’ll take them myself from now on. I appreciate your help.”

Guanheng performs a full bow and when he comes back to his axis, he catches a glimpse of his parents. They are crying like they are losing him. He looks away.

The Noble gives space for Guanheng and he can’t avoid but look back one last time, marking every detail of the city that made him and when there’s nothing left besides sadness and grievance, Guanheng goes inside the train. 

Sicheng comes inside and the door is closed, the train starts moving.

*

The train is nothing like the ones that Guanheng took with his family before. The common ones are rusty and always make the same noise, like rats running down the waste pipe. But this one moves smoothly and being alone the only sound he can hear is his own breathing. 

The coaches are plain white, not even a tiny particle of dust to be seen, and the walls are clean and covered with some type of texture that feels soft under his fingers but he can’t recognize where it came from. 

When he looks up to the ceiling the vision almost makes him choke. It’s a see-through glass top, lined with steel strips that seemed to be sustained by nothing. It feels like at any moment the sky can fall all over his head, the clouds engulfing him, the sun burning his skin. 

He comes back to his senses when the Noble from before, Dong Sicheng, crosses the automatic double door in the opposite wall. 

Guanheng had already noticed some time ago, but vampires don’t make any sound. They sit, walk and move in general quietude, like some sort of ghost. He watches the Noble in front of him do the same but interestingly, Dong Sicheng does breathing sounds. 

They are perfectly rithimic, symphonic maybe and that’s what gives it away that he’s not a human, but still, he could blend pretty well like this. 

They just sit there, the Noble staring blankly at Guanheng and him doing the same back. Now that they are so close to each other, he can see some details that he had let slide earlier. 

The best word for the vampire’s features is sharp. Sharp jawline, sharp eyes and sharp lips. The angles of his face gives the impression that they could've been calculated to fit perfectly in his face. There’s no better comparison for the man sitting in front of him than a marble sculpture.

When Guanheng eyes are watering because of the urge to close his eyes, the Noble blinks. And then he’s smiling. Somehow, he looks more human smiling than breathing, the smile is genuine and easy on his face.

“Dejun is really sorry.” The Noble says in an appeasing way, like Guanheng was upset that a man he never saw in his life couldn’t fetch him to go live with him against his will. Guanheng blinks. “He wanted to come himself, but the North council is more tough than the ones in the South.”

“We’ll be going to the Congress?” He asks, surprised. 

The vampire shakes his head, furrowing his brows. “No… Apparently the North doesn’t permit humans inside?”

He phrases it like a question, making Guanheng feel confused. 

“I thought it was weird.” Then, he finishes, asking. “It is different in the South?”

Sicheng nods, his posture not relaxing even for a moment but he doesn’t seem uncomfortable so Guanheng doesn’t dwell on it too much. 

“A lot. A good portion of humans work in high positions.” Guanheng notices that differently from most vampires, the Noble doesn’t say  _ humans  _ like something unpleasant or insignificant, in fact his voice tone doesn’t change at all. It’s like he is talking about a fellow vampire, but not quite.

_ This vampire is weird.  _ He thinks. He hopes Dejun is weird like this too.

“And the others don’t feel uncomfortable?” He asks, because the topic always comes back and after all, humans still are nothing more than food for creatures like the Noble. 

“We can all control ourselves if we want to, Guanheng.” 

“I think you should learn more about your species, sir.”

He only notices what he just said when the words are already hanging in the air. He expects a reprimand, or maybe a slap, he already has seen people be beaten up by offended vampires for less. But the Noble just tilts his head to the side, like a lost child. 

“You can call me Sicheng, Guanheng. It would be quite unfair to play the age respect card when I’m immortal.” It sounds like a joke, but Guanheng is too terrified to pay proper attention. He  _ can’t  _ call a Noble by his first name, they would  _ kill  _ him. “Guanheng?”

“Yes, sir?” He asks, not to sound spiteful, but more like a default answer. The Noble looks at him worriedly. 

“Are you ok? Your heart is beating faster than it should.” He comes closer, sitting beside him, and it’s the pure fear that doesn’t make Guanheng back away. “Try breathing slower.”

Sicheng puts his hands on Guanheng’s back, they are so cold that it actually helps to clear out the fogness of panic occupying his mind. When he fully goes back to normal, several minutes later, he finds himself leaning against the vampire. 

He pulls away faster than he takes to breathe. “How did you know what to do?”

Maybe because of the rush, the question sounds more accusing than Guanheng intended to, but Sicheng just smiles, giving him space again. 

“My husband had a lot of panic attacks when we first met.” Sicheng answers, fondly. “He would wake up gasping for air in the middle of the night, and it drove me mad with worry, so I started searching for ways to help him.”

“I appreciate your help.” Guanheng says, carefully, but before he can stop embarrassing himself, the real meaning behind Sicheng’s words clear out. “You’re married to a human?”

Sicheng nods. 

“I-I thought it wasn’t possible?” He stutters.  


“Why wouldn't it be?”

_ Because the predator shouldn’t lay with its prey. _ He thinks but keeps his mouth shut because he can see the adoration shining in Sicheng’s eyes and even him knows that’s a limit he must not tiptoe around.

“That’s the reason you do the breathing thing?” He asks.

“Yes.” Sicheng says. “I know it makes Xuxi uncomfortable that he can’t hear me coming closer.”

_ Xuxi.  _ He repeats inside his head.  _ That's a cute name.  _

They stay in silence for the rest of their trip after this. Guanheng watching the city pass through him in the large clean windows while Sicheng reads a book in a language that he can’t recognize.

For a moment, he allows himself to feel peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/heathown/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the mind doesn’t understand, it worships or fears.
> 
> \- Alice Walker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! I'm updating this faster than I expected?
> 
> tw for mild glorification towards suicide, it's really, really brief and by no means I want any of you to think that suicide it's an answer, ok? I personally think that it's not heavy but I'm not entirely sure, so if you have any thoughts on this, you can tell me!
> 
> enjoy!

The sky is of a bruised red tone when they step out of the rail station. The place was the most familiar sight Guanheng had since he had left home.

It was old and sad, just like its workers, clean but with some type of dirt hidden under the benches that shouldn't be seen unless you were looking for them. Guanheng decides that this is probably what rail stations were built for, taking you to places and hiding dirt. 

Sicheng walks protectively in front of him, cutting off the prying glances that come from the hungry vampires that look at him like he's their four course meal after a whole year starving. 

He keeps his head down, staring at the ground until Sicheng urges him inside a sleek black car.

Guanheng has seen cars some times in the past but none of them compare to the vehicle that he is in now. The seats are of dark-grey leather, so well connected to the inner part that Guanheng has a tough time discovering where they start. 

The whole thing seems to be more an alive organism than a simple automobile. Like the train, it barely makes noise, just a faint buzzing that in some ways resembles Guanheng of a hurt animal breathing. Steady, weak and unwilling to give up.

He wants to stay silent, savour the last moments before he becomes a toy for a monster to play with but he can't, too worked up from the weird situation back in the train.

So he does what he knows best. Ask questions.

"Where we are going?"Sicheng leans against the coach, his face stoic but the black flickers in his eyes are back. 

Guanheng suddenly is full of worry, whatever is making someone as a vampire nervous can't be a good thing. By his peripheral vision, Guanheng catches the driver watching them, he suppresses the urge to run when he locks his gaze with bright red eyes half-hidden by way too long bangs.

The vampire nods in greeting, smirking. Guanheng sits closer to Sicheng.

"Gardens."

Guanheng's eyes go wide. The Gardens are where the elite lives, like Ten and members of the council. Most people are not even sure that it really exists. They say that although it's called a garden, not even weed grows there. 

“I thought we were going to the South.” He murmurs, more to himself than anything, but Sicheng listens anyways and pats his head. It feels strange and Guanheng is split between brushing the hand away and leaning against the touch.

Sicheng makes him feel safer than he would like to admit. It didn’t, necessarily, meant a good thing.

“I’m sorry. Lord Yongqin is making things harder than we thought he would.” Sicheng answers, furrowing his brow in confusion and Guanheng remembers what Ten had told him back in the graveyard. Suddenly, he realizes what is happening. 

They think the North agreed. Worse, Dejun thinks that _Guanheng_ agreed.

Every twenty years, a new noble is chosen and as a gift he gains the right to choose a human companion, it happens in the spring and the town folk call it the Harvest. The human must be twenty, as a symbol of the new cycle and the rule that forbids vampires from mindless killing, doesn’t apply in this case. 

Yangyang was the last chosen one and they should still have some months before worrying about Harvest again. If Dejun hadn’t asked to choose for his companion in the North, when the time came, Guanheng wouldn’t be eligible anymore. 

_I would be free._ He thinks, desperately, feeling tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. 

Before he can have one of those things again, Sicheng had called them panic attacks if his memory is not failing him, the car halts.

All to all, Guanheng only notices that the car is moving when it stops. The buzzing comes to an end and suddenly the only noise that can be heard is Guanheng’s unsteady breathing. He looks at Sicheng and notices that he stopped pretending, now watching the back of the driver’s head with something akin to disdain. 

The tension is so thick that it could be cut with a knife and it’s doing nothing to calm down his nerves.

He’s close to asking what’s happening when someone opens the door at his side, startling him. It’s a woman and Guanheng almost sighs in relief when he sees that her eyes are brown, beautiful and completely human, honey brown eyes. 

She looks at him surprised, even opening her mouth but then she notices Sicheng behind him and something like understanding flashes through her eyes, she smiles. 

“You must be Huang Guanheng, right?” Guanheng nods, not sure of what exactly he should do. “I’m Song Yuqi. South’s council representative.”

Yuqi offers him her hand, which he takes without thinking twice. When he’s out of the car, he notices how tiny she actually is, barely reaching his eyes, yet, her presence makes him feel smaller. In some ways, Yuqi intimidates him much more than the vampires he was sharing space with.

As soon as the driver is dismissed, Sicheng is standing next to them and Guanheng watches, mildly mortified, as Yuqi jokingly punches the vampire in the shoulder. He smiles at her, saying something in another language enthusiastically. 

Sicheng leans towards her, messing the woman’s carefully brushed ginger locks and laughing when she slaps his hands away. Guanheng is confused, he’s pretty sure that the blush in Yuqi’s cheeks is due to the blood running through her veins but still.

They look like friends. Good friends. And humans aren’t friends with vampires.

 _Maybe she’s his companion?_ He tries but the talk with Sicheng comes back to his mind and he remembers that the vampire already has a human. _A husband._

Before he can think further about the issue, they both seem to remember that Guanheng can’t understand South dialect and switch back to the Common Language. 

“Dejun asked me to take you to the temporary residence.” She says in a pleasant voice, and just now he stops to look around.

If Guanheng was asked to put simply, he would say that it’s actually a garden, a weird one, but still a garden. The walls surrounding them are huge and completely covered in musgo. On top of them, white and red roses are intertwined by the stalks. And hiding behind them, there’s a complex of partnered black, white and grey houses. All of them box-sized, two large windows on each side and a black car in the garage.

It’s grotesque and exquisite in the same proportion. The colors don’t match and are depressing at best but somehow, the structure is so well-built that gives a fancy charm that if you look really well, it doesn’t exist.

Back in home, they are the ones who build the houses, stone on stone, brick on brick. Humans are less stronger than vampires and they catch colds as easy as the rain pours, they die as easy as the day fades to night, yet, the vampires, the ones that has death as such a distant concept that overpopulation can be a problem, are the ones who live in perfectly secure houses.

Again, he feels disgusted. At the vampires, at himself, and even at Dejun, whom he has yet to meet. 

Yuqi touches him in the middle of his shoulder blades, and even through the shirt, he can feel the heat coming from her hands, he looks up and for how weird it sounds, seeing her chest going up and down makes him feel better.

She may not be a person of trust, but Yuqi’s an equal and apparently, that’s all he will have for now.

Yuqi smiles, and Guanheng can’t help but wonder what Yangyang would do in his place. _He wouldn’t be here in the first place._ His mind reminds him. _Yangyang was not a coward._

“Can we go in?” Sicheng’s voice is soft, but he looks worried. Guanheng just stares.

“Sure.”

The dam breaks and somewhere inside, he drowns.

…

There’s no car in front of the “provisary residence”, probably because Dejun is using it. 

The neighbor’s house still has a car and shivers run down Guanheng’s spine when he thinks about being alone in a house right beside a vampire’s home. He opens his mouth, almost voicing his thoughts but stops midway. He doesn’t know of these people, considering that one of them is not even human, it will do him no good to share his fears.

The interior of the house is even more stirring than the outside, less monochromatic too. Small things like pale blue vases, a light brown carpet and rays of sunlight coming through the cracks of the curtains that makes the room feel more alive. 

He notices a leather wallet in the center table but says nothing, recognizing the object means that he will have to acknowledge that from now on he will live with someone that considers him nothing more than a property.

“Your things are in your room.” Yuqi says, standing side by side with Sicheng in the entrance. “Most of them are still in boxes. Dejun said that if you need help to unpack you can ask him when he gets home.”

Guanheng sighs in relief. He definitely doesn’t want Dejun’s help but he feels some distorced gratitude towards the other for not touching his things without consent. 

“Are you sure that you will be ok alone?” Sicheng asks and Guanheng is surprised with the clear worry in his voice. “I can stay here, if you want. “

Yuqi seems to be surprised too, but she’s fast to cover the expression and look at him, waiting for his answer.

“If there’s food in the fridge, I’ll be fine.” He replies. Sicheng looks like he wants to argue but Yuqi touches his shoulder in a placating way and any resistance leaves his body. Guanheng feels like screaming just as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. 

“You’re definitely fine, then.” She says, a joke hidden in her tone, then bows her head and when she’s back, her face is serious again. “We’ll be going now, Guanheng. If you need anything, Cheng and Xuxi are in the next door and I’m three houses from here.”

He nods, somewhat relieved that now he just needs to worry about the predator living with him and not his neighbors too. 

“I appreciate your help.” 

Yuqi smiles, like she knows something that none of them do. “We appreciate what you're doing for us, Guanheng. The South won’t forget.”

When he’s finally alone, he goes in the room's direction, cursing himself for not asking where his room was. After some wandering, the place is bigger than he thought, he opens one of the doors just to find a messy bed and the fragrance of musk still strong in the air.

It’s clear that the room was used not long ago. There’s still a humid towel hanging from the bathroom doorknob and social white shirts are thrown around the place. 

Guanheng closes the door like he just entered the Devil’s personal space. _Dejun’s room._

His room is one bathroom of distance from the vampire’s room and he thinks that it’s odd. There was an empty room right in front of Dejun’s. Why leave space between them? Could he be trying to plant a fake ambience of security? He heard stories about sadistic vampires before. The ones that enjoyed inflicting pain in humans, playing mind tricks on them. 

Jun was the former baker older child and the last chosen one before Yangyang. He was also the first to ever return from a vampire’s hand completely unharmed.

Or so they thought. 

Guanheng’s mother tells him that Jun was known as a bright kid in his childhood, shiny eyes and always with a smile on his face, he would be a better baker than his father. A bright child with a bright future.

But then, the Harvest came and Jun’s name was called, they had chosen him. 

No one ever tells Jun’s father's reaction, but he can imagine just by the shadow that covers his mother’s eyes whenever they are talking about it.

When it was announced that the noble that had taken Jun was realising him, the town rejoiced.

Everybody knew what usually happened with the humans that were realised, they were deemed useless and killed, as a punishment. But Jun was being realised, alive.

They all waited for him. Guaheng’s father tells him that even him, still a teenager in those times, was excited. He tells Guanheng that they _thanked_ the vampire’s _kindness._

There were no bruises in Jun’s skin, his body was completely untouched, it seems that the vampire hadn’t even bit him. Jun never confirmed or denied, but well, Jun never said anything, ever.

He always had this sombered look in his eyes, like he was afraid of something, avoiding touches like the plague and crying soundless at any sudden movement in his direction. Gone was the bright child and in his place, it was returned a man with his soul so badly damaged that no fix was deemed possible. 

Guanheng was ten when Jun got seriously sick, and too old to fight the ill that had fallen upon him, he passed away in less than three days.

Until this day, he remembers the man’s face, there was nothing human on him anymore, his face set in an eternal mix of sorrow, pain and horror. Whatever trait of happiness he had on him, lost long ago in the hands of a monster.

Guanheng wonders what will happen to him if Dejun is this type of vampire, if there’s any way that he won’t end up broken, terrified for the rest of his life, like Jun. 

He lays on the soft mattress disposed over the bed, enjoying himself while he can. He knows that the quietude won’t be forever, that at some moment Dejun will see that it doesn't matter what he does Guanheng won’t bow his head, but he’s tired and it will do him no good ponder over things that are are yet to happen.

He’s sleepy, probably because of exhaustion and the tears he had to hold back, so he doesn’t pay attention to the noise of a door being opened, he just closes his eyes and falls in a peaceful slumber.

…

When Guaheng wakes up, he’s covered with a heavy dark blue blanket. He blinks, twice.

He gets up slowly, dizzy from sleepness that washes over when you wake up from a long nap, letting the blanket fall from his shoulders. From what he can see from the outside, the day is gone and the moon is high in the sky.

The room is freezing even though the door is closed and Guanheng squeezes his arms, looking for heat as he walks toward the balcony. 

It’s a full moon night and Guanheng notices that it's colder inside the house than in the outside, which screams odds because when he got here, the house was in a perfectly normal temperature. While he’s looking around the bedroom for the heater, the sound of a pan crashing against the floor startles him. 

It comes from outside the room, but still within the limits of the house, followed by the crash more rustle occurs somewhere under the floor he’s standing on. A stove being turned on, cutting and more dropping things. 

It’s pure instinct that makes him move, his mind flashes red flags left and right, screaming for him to stay where he is and his heart shrinks in fear but he keeps moving. Passing through Dejun’s room, he finds the door wide open, all the earlier mess put back in place, the lights on. 

The noise takes him to the kitchen and getting there, he finds a man. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you don't know, Alice Walker is the author of The Color Purple, which I highly recommend. Though I sugest you to do some reserch about it first, it's a strong reading!
> 
> Back to the story, one more chapter where we don't meet Dejun!! I'm so sorry! It's the pace of the story, what can I do? Don't worry too much though, in the next chapter, xiaodery definetely (and finally) will meet!

**Author's Note:**

> come scream about deadlines with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/heathown/)


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